Andrew Bogut launches scathing criticism of Football Australia’s inclusivity policy

Former Aussie NBA star Andrew Bogut has slammed Football Australia for having  ‘identity not sufficiently represented’ among the gender options on their website.

Bogut explained on Twitter he was attempting to sign his six-year-old kid up to play football and shared a picture of the choices available to select the gender. 

‘Male’, ‘female’, ‘non-binary/gender fluid’ and ‘gender identity not sufficiently represented’ were all included in the dropdown menu.

‘Signing our 6 YEAR OLD!, Once again, 6 YEAR OLD! up for soccer. C’mon @FootballAus,’ the 2015 NBA champion tweeted.

Earlier this week, Bogut vehemently criticised a controversial gay pride mural in Sydney, which sparked outrage and demands for the ‘creepy and sexualised’ image to be removed from the view of children.

The option featured in a dropdown menu that appeared as Bogut tried to sign his six-year-old kid up to play football

Situated adjacent to Wynard Street Station, the mural depicted a hairy, overweight man wearing a teddy bear head and bondage gear while lying on a dilapidated lounge draped in a gay pride flag.

‘I saw it, I commented on it, not a fan of it,’ Bogut told Sky News host Paul Murray.

‘Obviously, the teddy bear can be one argument from the LGBT community, but you know kids identify to things like that and drawn to teddy bears and rainbow flags and whatnot.

‘Seeing that was, in my opinion, despicable […] it’s outrageous.’

In 2020, Football Australia was one of 13 National Sporting Organisations that pledged to developing trans and gender diverse inclusion frameworks for their sport.

Football Australia’s CEO James Johnson said at the time the organisation was committed to established and implement policies to ensure trans and gender diverse people would feel welcome and included at all levels football. 

‘In the XI Principles for the future of Australian football document, we recognise the need to introduce measures to promote inclusion and make football accessible to all,’ he said.

“We look forward to working with Pride in Sport to formalise frameworks and guidelines that promote inclusion for trans and gender diverse people within our game – be they at the grassroots or professional level, in administrative roles, or any other capacity.

‘Football is the world game and it is our mission to make football inclusive for all.’

The Socceroos were the first team to publicly addressed the fact homosexuality is still criminalised in the Qatar as they express concerns over LGTB laws in the country ahead of the 2022 World Cup. 

Socceroos star Jackson Irvine has regularly wore a pride flag-themed captain’s armband while playing for his club side St Pauli in the German second division

 ‘As players, we fully support the rights of LGBTI+ people, but in Qatar people are not free to love the person they choose,’ the 16 players backing the initiative said in the video, released on Socceroos’ social media pages in late October.

A statement from Football Australia also reaffirmed their desire for gay rights to improve not just while the globe is watching during the World Cup, but after the tournament.

‘As the most multicultural, diverse, and inclusive sport in our country, we believe everyone should be able to feel safe and be their true authentic selves,’ FA’s statement read.

‘Whilst we acknowledge the highest levels of assurances given by HH Amir of Qatar and the President of FIFA that LGBTI+ fans will be safely welcomed in Qatar, we hope that this openness can continue beyond the tournament.’